Outbreaks of cholera in Nepal.

ABSTRACT

This paper presents the study of the etiological agents of diarrhea in children below 14 years of age, this study was conducted from May 1995 to April 1996. One thousand one hundred seven (1,107) children with acute diarrhea receiving Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT) at National Kanti Children's Hospital were included in this study. Stool samples of these patients were investigated at the Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Institute of Medicine. None of the stool samples showed the growth of Vibrio cholerae 0139 synonym Bengal. In Nepal, V.cholerae could be isolated from June to November. From December to May, no cases of V. cholerae were detected. Therefore, we address to this incidence as outbreaks rather than endemic. Mixed infections along with V. cholerae were also seen in 29% of cholera patients. V. cholerae 01, Hikojima types were the major isolates in our study followed by Ogawa type. V. cholerae, Hikojima and Ogawa serotypes were associated with mixed infection in 16.1% and 12.9% of patients, respectively. These isolates were associated with Shigella, Salmonella and pathogenic E. coli.